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Welcome to the second edition of the PWInsider Town Hall! This week's batch of questions focuses on Ring Of Honor as they head into their big debut in Virginia, as well as their move downstairs to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. We've got several panelists who decided to join us this week, so let's see what they had to say.
-Do you think ROH will sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom? If not, do you think they'll at least break their record attendance from the Manhattan Center?
Edgar Mendez: I do believe that they will sell out Hammerstein's. Tickets have been selling at a good rate since the announcement of that show, and the card so far looks like it'll draw in a nice chunk of fans. Matches like Necro and Morishima will attract some of the old ECW faithful. You have Nigel vs Claudio which is a match that fans have been clamoring to see for a while, and you have Danielson vs Marufuji which has the potential to steal the show. Once the rest of the card is revealed, I expect the ticket sales to recieve a big enough boost to sell-out Hammerstein's.
Bill Smith: No, but I think it will be close. I do think they will break their attendance record. That is a great venue to watch wrestling.
Mike Wolf: ROH will easily break their previous attendance records. People recognize ROH as a Indy similar to ECW.
Gregory Honay: I don't know about this one. I understand that WWE had trouble drawing in this building, but WWE and ROH play to mostly two different audiences. ROH typically draws very well in New York, but attendance has been down the last couple of shows, so I doubt they'll sell the place out. That said, I do think they'll draw very well, and I think that the being at ROH's first show in Hammerstein alone will be enough of a draw to maybe pull a larger crowd than usual.
Lee Morgan: Though Morishima versus Butcher is an intriguing proposition, the line-up doesn’t have the blow away appeal of a Final Battle or Supercard of Honor. I’m therefore doubtful of a sell-out. However, the core fan base, combined with big occasion and increased capacity, should ensure their Manhattan Center record is easily broken.
Big Mark Sackwell: I don't think they will, no. Attendance has been down I believe at the last two Manhattan Center shows, and even though I do think some people will come out because it's going to be the first show in Hammerstein, I either think they won't break the record or, if they do, it won't be by much.
-In light of Mark Briscoe's wrist injury requiring surgery, how would you handle the ROH Tag Team Title situation?
Edgar Mendez: I would have done the same thing that ROH ended up doing. Have Jay select his partner and continue to defend the titles. With Austin Aries as his partner you keep the belts around the Briscoes waist, and you advance the Jacobs-Aries storyline.. Seems like the most reasonable way to handle this, otherwise you would have to switch the belts again (which has happened a lot as of late) which could only devalue the tag titles.
Bill Smith: I like the idea of Briscoe working with Aries. Their styles match and they both have storyline issues with AOTF. They can always have Aries lose the belts and then turn him for a program with Briscoe until Mark returns.
Mike Wolf: I would let Jay choose a partner to defend the titles with since they are his titles, or i would vacate the titles and have a tag scramble for the belts.
Gregory Honay: I would have gone in a totally different direction than ROH did (after this question was posted, I guess), and I would have had Jay give the other half of the tag title to El Generico, and then when Mark's back and healthy enough to work, I would have teamed him with Steen and had them beat Jay and Generico, both to take a unique spin on last year's Briscoes-Steen/Generico feud, as well as to fulfill Steen's storyline where he guarantees to become a champion by the end of 2008.
Lee Morgan: ROH have already tackled this with the most obvious solution– Austin Aries as Mark’s replacement. The obvious, in this case, is also the best. It has storyline relevance, and should be a fantastic match. If they want to go a unique route, have Aries and Jay remain as a regular unit until Mark’s return is announced. In their last match before Mark returns, they face the floundering Roderick Strong and a ‘mystery partner’. Strong comes out solo, much to the confusion of his NRC teammates. Midway through the match, Aries attacks Mark, revealing himself as the mystery partner. Aries and Strong reunite as tag team champions, giving them fresh direction, with readymade challenges from the Briscoes, Age of the Fall and – expressing dismay at Strong’s actions – Richards and Romero.
Big Mark Sackwell: This has obviously already been handled, but I would not have acknowledged Mark's injury, and then do an injury angle where the challengers "injure" Mark, and then beat Jay 2-on-1. Would have worked great if they want to get the titles back onto Jacobs/Black or Richards/Romero. Then after losing the title, the injury Mark supposedly suffered at the title loss match would have sidelined him for however long he'll be out after the surgery.
-How do you feel about Nigel McGuinness as World Champion since the 6th Anniversary Show? Do you think he works better as a heel champion than as a face champion?
Edgar Mendez: I've enjoyed Nigel's recent heel run a lot. I've always found him to be better as a heel. His work as a heel back when he was the Pure Champion was among the best in ROH history. Though I don't like the reason why he was turned heel (The fans bitching and moaning) I do think its better for him to be a heel. Besides, it makes for a different dynamic in the title matches. Now we have a champ who doesn't care about honor or nothing of the sorts, he just cares about winning and keeping the belt at any cost.
Bill Smith: I like McGuinness’ work but never believed him as a champion. He is MUCH better as a heel than a face.
Mike Wolf: Nigel McGuinness is so damn amazing as a heel. He is a natural asshole and he just makes me want to hate him. He's one of my favorite World Champions.
Gregory Honay: I've always been a fan of Nigel's work, but I think he got really watered down in 2007 working babyface. I've always enjoyed his work much more as a heel, I think he connects with the crowd better, and he's able to overuse the lariats, but make it work to his character's advantage, which he definitely wasn't doing as a face. I also like that he's not just a run of the mill heel, he's the guy who tried doing it right by the fans, but just had it thrown back in his face until he said screw the fans and just did it his way. I understand that the face turn may have been necessary to elevate him to the World Title, but his work as a heel was what got him over to begin with and it's what I think will help him succeed as a much less bland World Champion.
Lee Morgan: After winning the title, Nigel found himself in the same position as Bret Hart in early 1997, polarizing the crowd through no fault of his own. Simply put, they wanted to see others on top, be it Danielson or Aries. They had tired of his act. So much like Hart, and Foley before him, Nigel solidified his heel turn with some fantastic promos wrapped around a core of truth. He dismissed those fans unappreciative of his sacrifices, thereby giving them a concrete reason to jeer him. He is far more productive in this role, with a new, authentic heel heat making any match he’s in naturally more beneficial to his challengers.
Big Mark Sackwell: I think Nigel is much better off as a heel. Nigel was just too plain and vanilla as a babyface, and while I did see potential in him doing a John Cena-esque guy who may not get cheered, but fights like a warrior to win regardless of the odds, they ended up going in a different direction obviously.
-Should ROH continue to feature the FIP Title on ROH shows, or should they instead concentrate on a second ROH singles title?
Edgar Mendez: I'm a bit torn on this one. Defending the FIP title in ROH shows can help promote FIP to the ROH fans that might know about the FIP product. But at the same time, we've seen the FIP title change hands in ROH shows, and that's just not fair to the FIP faithful that have supported the company since day one. I would like to see ROH Pure Title being brought back and have it be the secondary title. I know some people didn't like the rules that the title brought to the matches, but at very least, its a belt that belongs to ROH and not a different company.. Even if both companies are run by basically the same people.
Bill Smith: I like the FIP title matches at ROH shows and no I would not add any belts to ROH outside of that they have.
Mike Wolf: I actually like the FIP title as a secondary title. It is an awesome title that has helped elevate Erick Stevens and could to the same for Tyler Black. I do, however, miss the ROH pure title, but it wasn't so much the title as the matches. I love pure wrestling matches and pure wrestling rules.
Gregory Honay: I look at the FIP Title less as a secondary singles title in its own right as much as it is a marketing tool designed to promote a struggling indy in Florida. It's not a matter of the market, ROH went down south and drew a pair of crowds over the 1200 mark, while FIP runs the same markets with a lot of the same talent, and is lucky to do 75 people. The fact that they recently started running less shows is a very bad sign for any promotion, and that came from the lips of Gabe Sapolsky himself years ago when discussing the health of ROH. I understand promoting the synergy with FIP and SHIMMER, but SHIMMER is a truly different niche product, while FIP just seems like a watered down developmental territory of ROH, just with much smaller and way less enthusiastic crowds. I think it's fine having the FIP Champion, whoever that is, appearing on ROH shows, but come up with another ROH Title, even if Gabe isn't a fan of secondary titles.
Lee Morgan: I always felt the inclusion of the FIP title on ROH shows was unnecessary and could even cause some brand confusion among new viewers. ROH doesn’t want a secondary title, so why then include one from another company? I know Sapolsky books both companies, but if a viewer has no knowledge of FIP storylines, they have little reason to care about standalone matches. I don’t think ROH is in the position yet where they can successfully boost a smaller promotion’s profile. The FIP title actually dilutes their product somewhat, reminding the viewer that they’re watching a smaller, independent company.
Big Mark Sackwell: I'm kind of torn. On the one hand I see why they don't do another ROH title since Gabe doesn't believe in secondary titles, and the FIP Title kind of circumvents that and promotes FIP while they're at it. At the same time though, they really need to stop changing the FIP Title on ROH shows if they want the FIP fans in Florida to believe that those in charge even give a crap about them as anything other than ROH's unofficial developmental territory.
-Assuming that a return to the UK, Japan, and the west coast are not imminent, what other geographic areas do you think ROH should expand into and why?
Edgar Mendez: There's been talk about ROH running some shows in Canada, that would be the best bet. I know people will bring up the abysmal PPV numbers in Canada, but the fact remains that Canada is a hotbed for wrestling, and it always has been. Add in the fact that some of the ROH roster have worked for UWA Hardcore Wrestling (In Canada) and you'll have some wrestlers that the people up north are familiar with. Right now, that would seem like the safest bet if ROH wishes to expand.
Bill Smith: Florida. Their style works well down there. Chicago is a good wrestling city. I would think Canada would work for them too.
Mike Wolf: ROH should definitely expand to Northwest at some point and it should also make it's way back to Maryland.
Gregory Honay: If I were ROH, having already tried to expand out west, I would now start trying to expand north and south, because there's some big markets to tap into. They've already announced their debut in Virginia, and there's a heavily rumored show in Toronto coming up this summer, but I would certainly make Toronto/Montreal doubleshot weekends a priority, as well as feeling out the Carolinas if Virginia works out for them.
Lee Morgan: Should he win the title at the Hammerstein show, may I suggest a homecoming to Switzerland for Claudio!
Big Mark Sackwell: Canada would be a good move, and not just doing the rumored Toronto show, I'd like to see them try doing a double shot with Halifax and maybe somewhere in northern New England. Those people get no love. Also, it's a bit remote geographically, but I'd like to see them give St Louis a shot since it's got a very rich wrestling history.
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So there we have it. It looks like the general consensus is that ROH will do well at Hammerstein but probably not sell out, and people generally like the idea of Aries taking up as a substitute tag champ, though there were some other creative booking ideas. The unanimous opinion is that Nigel McGuinness is better off as a heel, while the opinions were evenly split on whether the FIP Title is working out as ROH's secondary title. Finally, though there were some other ideas thrown out there, it looks like there's a lot of support for ROH running some shows north of the border.
But now it's time to move on to this week's batch of questions, as we deal with the fallout from Backlash:
-Should Triple H have gotten the WWE Title at Backlash? Do you feel he abused his power to get the strap, or do you think that he's redeemed himself by going over three years without a World Title?
-With a second victory over Chavo Guerrero under his belt, where do you go from here with Kane? Do you see anyone on ECW who could be a legitimate contender, or do you bring someone in from Raw or Smackdown?
-Do you agree with William Regal not having a match on Backlash? Do you think he was the right man to win King Of The Ring?
-How would you have booked Shawn Michaels vs Batista? Was Shawn the right person to go over?
-Do you think MVP should continue his feud with Matt Hardy, or should he now move up into main events? Do you think it's too early for him to be matched up with the Undertaker?
All your responses can be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com, and remember, the more well thought out and well written your responses are, the more likely they'll make it into the column. Thanks for reading, and see you all next Thursday!
